How to List an Internship on a Resume

How to List an Internship on a ResumeHow to List an Internship on a ResumeIn todays competitive job market, a relevant internship can set you apart from other job applicants. This is especially true if you are a student or recent graduate with little work experience, or if you are changing careers. Dont hide your internship experiences at the bottom of your resume. Instead, highlight your internship experiences, and detail how they have prepared you for the job you want. When to Include Internships on Your Resume You should include an internship on your resume when the internship is relevant to the job you are applying for. This is especially the case when you are a student or recent graduate with limited work experience. Internships provide you with critical experience in an industry, so be sure to include them to show your skills and abilities. You should also include internships when you are starting a new career. While you might have many years of work experience, these jobs might not relate to your new career. Highlight any internships that have prepared you for a job in your new industry. When to Leave Out Internships You might begin to remove internships from your resume when you begin to develop enough work experience in your field. After about five or so years (or two or three jobs) in your industry, you can focus primarily on this work history rather than on your past internship experience. However, if you held a particularly prestigious internship in your field, you might keep it on your resume for a bit longer. For example, if you had an internship at Google or Facebook, or another important internship in your industry, keep it on your resume. Where to Put Internships Because internships provide important work experience, you should include your internships in the Work Experience or Work History section of your resume, along with other jobs you have held. If you have held multiple internships, you can include a separate Internship sectio n on your resume. Put this section towards the top of your resume. Put your Internship section above your Work History section if your internships are particularly relevant to the job you are applying for. Whatever you do, dont put your internships at the bottom of your resume or in the Education section. Internships are real-world experiences, and should be given as much weight as a job. How to Include Internships When you include an internship on your resume, include the same information as any other job. Firstly, include the internship title. If possible, dont just say Intern ask your supervisor if you have a more detailed title, such as Marketing Intern or Sales Associate Intern. Also include the company name, location, and the dates of the internship. You can list the dates by month and year, or by the season (such as Summer 20XX or Spring 20XX). Underneath this information, include 2-4 bullet points that list your responsibilities and achievements during the internship. F ocus on responsibilities that relate to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a writing job, mention how you wrote and published five articles during your internship. You dont need to include your less relevant tasks, such as answering phones or photocopying. If you are having trouble deciding what responsibilities and achievements to include, start by making a long list of everything you did at each internship. Then look at the job listing for the ort youre applying for. Circle anything from your list that matches the skills or abilities required for the job. Highlight these particular experiences. Also ask your intern supervisor for help including your internship on your resume. He or she can help you highlight the most important skills and experiences for the industry, and can tell you what key terms from your industry to include. Also make sure that you format your internships in a way that is consistent with the way you format your other work experi ence. Again, internships are just as important to your career as a job, so you should not format them differently. This is especially the case if you include internships under Work History. For example, if you bold your job titles, do the same for your internship titles. Example of Internships on a Resume This is an example of a Work Experience section of a resume that includes two internships. WORK EXPERIENCE New York History MuseumNew York, NYAcademic Programs InternJan. 20XX May 20XX Developed and ran activities for museum visitors ages 5-15 for February and April school break programsWrote five articles for monthly newsletter with 5,000 readersConducted research on latest curriculum standards and reported findings in presentation to Education Department Albany History SocietyAlbany, NYEducation InternSummer 20XX Developed and implemented activities for museum visitors ages 4-10 related to new museum exhibit on the history of transportationCollaborated with Education Departm ent to develop and run an all-day history workshop for elementary studentsReceived award for Outstanding Intern of the Summer from the President of the Society